The pair met Friday afternoon in front of Music Hall in Over-the-Rhine, where construction is underway for Cincinnati's 3.6-mile streetcar system, which will cost $133 million.

James discusses the importance of streetcars and mass transit to urban redevelopment.

Also, James explains how Kansas City's streetcar project is funded. Money to build and operate the system will come from a special assessment and one-cent sales tax collected inside a transportation development district approved by voters via a mail-in election in 2012.

Both levies will be assessed only within the taxing district, which includes areas along the streetcar route.

The Kansas City project is a two-mile, $102 million system that's slated to open in 2015.

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